“And so our goal on health care is, if we can get, instead of health care costs going up 6 percent a year, it’s going up at the level of inflation, maybe just slightly above inflation, we’ve made huge progress. And by the way, that is the single most important thing we could do in terms of reducing our deficit. That’s why we did it.”…Barack Obama

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)[1] imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies. In addition, higher tax rates on working and investing will discourage economic growth both now and in the future, further lowering the standard of living.”…Heritage Foundation

“They’re worried about their jobs, high debt levels and rising living expenses, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Only 13% of workers surveyed said they “feel very confident” that they will be able to retire comfortably — less than half the percentage reported in 2007.

Nearly half — 49% — said they were “not too” or “not at all” confident.”

“Debt is standing in the way of saving. More than half of workers reported having a problem with their level of debt, while only about half of those surveyed said they could definitely cover $2,000 worth of unexpected expenses within the next month.”

“Spiraling health care costs and long-term care expenses are also a growing concern.

In 2013, 29% of respondents expressed concern with their ability to cover medical costs in retirement, up from 24% last year.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK)will hold a press conference on Thursday, February 16th at 12:30 p.m. to introduce the “Seniors’ Choice Act”, a proposal to save Medicare from insolvency through immediate and long-term reforms based on choice and sustainability.

As many of us know, the tax and control bill, referred to by the Democrat Congress as the Health Care Bill, is unconstitutional. But even scarier than that, it is a massive effort to transfer more power to the Executive Branch of Government.

Michael Connelly is a retired attorney and constitutional law expert. From his site:

“Well, I have some bad news for all of the socialists, or progressives, or whatever you choose to call yourselves this week, you have made a huge mistake. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto who led the attack said that: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” I suggest to President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid that you have awakened the giant again and that this giant, made up of freedom loving Americans, is going to be coming at you from every direction you can imagine.

Individuals and State Governments will be challenging you in the courts, and Americans will take you on in the polling places. In every city, town and village you will hear the voices of angry Americans and despite your best efforts we will not be silenced. You will hear the outcry of Americans of every race, religion, and creed and we will prevail.

To my fellow freedom loving Americans I say this: I am nothing special, just a retired attorney and U.S. Army veteran who loves my country. Yet, my family has fought in every war that has America has engaged in since my ancestors first joined North Carolina and Virginia Cavalry Regiments during the Revolution. Now I have two sons fighting for our nation in the military. I will not allow their fight to have been in vain.

Help in any way you can, though letters to your local newspapers, financial support for groups filing lawsuits, or simply with your prayers for our country. We all must make our voices heard and do what is necessary to save our nation. Never despair and never surrender. For if freedom in America dies, then it dies in the rest of the world. God Bless America!”

“Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of: The Affordable Health Care”

“Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of: The Affordable Health Care
Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of
expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the
proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found
was far worse than what I had heard or expected.
To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is
in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does
provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and
other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants,
free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by
members of the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business,
and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal
health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them
will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to
physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly
controlled by the government.
However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I
have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing
affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most
massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever
occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted,
major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have
been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between
the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The
Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number
of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses
they own.
The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most
of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S.
Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to
regulate health care..
This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama
administration, to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal
financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and
hospital. All of this is a direct violation to protection against unreasonable
searches and seizures. A direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th
Amendment to the Constitution. You can also forget about the right to privacy.
That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th
Amendments may provide.”

“The Mayo Clinic, which has been praised by President Obama as an exemplar for the healthcare industry, will no longer accept new Medicare patients at a primary-care clinic in Glendale, AZ, a Phoenix suburb. While this office serves only a small portion of Mayo’s 526,000 patients in Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida, the organization says that the Glendale clinic is part of a 2-year pilot that will determine whether Mayo continues taking care of Medicare patients at other facilities. Meanwhile, the 3,000 Medicare patients who see family doctors at the Glendale office will have to pay nearly $2,000 a year out of pocket if they want to stay with their physicians.
Mayo is going in this direction because it lost $840 million last year on Medicare. Its Arizona hospital and four primary-care clinics lost $120 million. Nationwide, physicians earn about 20 percent less from Medicare than they do from private payers, but there’s no evidence that most are losing money on Medicare. In a Bloomberg article, Dr. Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute is quoted as saying that some primary-care physicians can afford to do without Medicare “because there is an unlimited demand for their services.” In areas where private health plans pay much more, Medicare looks like a poor payer, he adds.
Nevertheless, the Mayo experiment highlights the grim realities facing Medicare. Even at the current payment rates, the payroll-tax-funded Medicare Trust Fund, which covers inpatient care, is expected to go bankrupt in 2017. General tax revenues and beneficiary premiums guarantee the solvency of Medicare Part B, the outpatient program, but neither higher taxes nor the current rise in premiums is popular. Cutting doctors’ fees is not politically acceptable, either. To keep those fees stable for the next decade, the House recently passed a supplemental spending bill of nearly $200 billion, and the Senate is expected to follow suit, in return for the AMA’s support of its reform bill.”

Representative Parker Griffith of Alabama announces his switch from the Democrat to Republican party.

Parker Griffith did not just vote against the Health care bill and other harmful legislation, he sent a strong signal that the Democrat party is not good for this country.

From CBS News blog, December 22, 2009.

“Parker Griffith, Democratic Representative, Switches Parties to GOP”

“Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, announced Tuesday that he is switching parties to become a Republican.

“I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives us further and further into debt,” Griffith, 67, said at a press conference at his home, according to the Associated Press.

Some aren’t surprised by Griffith’s switch. He has voted against all major Democratic initiatives this year, including the stimulus, cap and trade and health care bills.

He’s also spoken out against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that he would not vote for her to be speaker again.”

“A radiation oncologist, Griffith cited the Democrats’ health care plans as a reason for his switch. He was one of 39 Democrats to vote against the bill in the House last month.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that this bill is bad for our doctors,” he said at the press conference, according to the AP. “It’s bad for our patients. It’s bad for the young men and women who are considering going into the health care field.”

“The success of Republicans in the off-year elections last month also appears to be a reason for his decision to switch parties. Griffith told Politico then that he wanted to be called an independent Blue Dog, not a Democrat. “I should be nervous,” he added.”

“When a Member of Congress decides to leave a 258 seat majority to join a deep minority, it is a sure sign that the majority party has become completely disconnected from seniors, young workers, and families in America,” Cantor said in a statement. “We welcome Parker Griffith to the Republican Conference, and will continue to stand and fight against the damaging agenda of this Administration working in tandem with the Pelosi/Reid run Congress.”

“Parker Griffith is a dedicated public servant who has consistently put the best interests of his constituents first, and it is in that spirit that Republicans welcome him,” Boehner added. “With today’s decision, Congressman Griffith has added his voice to the growing chorus of Americans who have had it with Democrats’ wrong-headed policies and lack of leadership.””

Just in from Stubborn_Facts at Grassroots in Nebraska, December 22, 2009.

Grassroots in Nebraska

Stubborn_Fact-
sStubborn_Facts has invited you to the event ‘STOP the Health Care Bill Before Christmas! Rally’ on Grassroots in Nebraska!
REMINDER!! RALLY TONIGHT AT 6PM + DON’T FORGET TO BOMBARD BEN ALL WEEK!
An interactive parking garage map of downtown has been added to the site!

For much more detail, visit THIS POST on the Grassroots in Nebraska website.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for a vote on health care before Christmas.

**So YES, it is rather NUTS to try to do a rally on 12/22 in <32 degree weather…in the evening.**

BUT…if there is ANY chance we can impact this bill, it really comes down to US in Nebraska –

Senator Ben Nelson, by all accounts is the KEY vote on this bill and has voiced his unwillingness to vote for it in its present form, including federal funding for abortion.

Sen. David Vitter (LA) an executive member of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, advised on a 12/17 conference call with grassroots organizers from several states that some large, visible rally in Nebraska with media attention may well have some impact on Senator Nelson. He is already under a lot of pressure.

He also said if we could get national media attention that would be very helpful.

The other organizers on the call offered their support by way of encouraging whoever could possibly come from their states, spreading the word, gathering national media contact information they have, and by donating money for us to run an ad campaign about the rally (see below).

Chris Comeaux from Tea Party of Louisiana has made plans to travel to Lincoln to help on Monday and Tuesday. I have heard from a couple of other organizers that they are trying to work things out so they can come also.

PLEASE – DRESS WARMLY!!

We already have….
Lights
Sound system
Gary!

So we need YOU and for you to drag as many people along as you can – and could use HELP, especially in getting the word out, and participating in flyer distribution we are arranging.

IF you want to help, leave a comment below.

If you need sign ideas, see this POST.

Facebook event
NOTICE
For this limited purpose we ARE trying to raise money to run ads on TV, radio, and print on Monday and Tuesday. There is a donate button on the Grassroots in Nebraska website for this purpose.
Once this event is over, the button will come down.

Besides the rally scheduled for Tuesday (see below), we need people to call, fax, email and make personal visits to his offices. Apparently, there has been a very orchestrated effort by groups who are in favor of the bill to bombard him.

YES you will have difficulty getting through but please keep trying.
If there is anytime when we are going to exert effort in the way it is NOW.

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN COORDINATING AN ONGOING PRESENCE DURING BUSINESS HOURS (INCLUDING A PICKET LINE WITH SIGNS) AT THE LINCOLN OFFICE, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND WE WILL GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU

Tuesday’s Rally Event on…
PLEASE NOTICE FLYERS ATTACHED IF YOU HAVE TIME TODAY – PLEASE PASS SOME OUT
PLEASE Dress warmly for this evening!
Bring signs. Check out the Signs and Slogans tab on the website if you need more ideas.

Be sure to check out the YOUTUBE Video for the rally. Rally Video

This ad MAY run sometime today on radio or TV – with the situation on a short tether and so fluid, nailing pre-rally ads down has been a challenge.
If this ad doesn’t run, we will place ads for Wednesday that are generally aimed at Nelson’s decision.
Visit Grassroots in Nebraska at: http://netcot.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network